Saturday, December 06, 2008

Windows Server 2008 Feature List

In his article Should You Upgrade to Windows Server 2008? (Part 2) Mark’s guest contributor Rhonda Layfield condensed pages of information into one document. While this is not specific to Small Business Server 2008 it’s a good source of information that could come in handy.

Method number 3: I created an XML file as directed by the Microsoft Mobile Team blog post. Converted it to a .cab file. Copied the .cab file to the My Documents folder on the Smartphone and ran it from the device.

The certificate went in place just as advertised. Hit Sync and the device synced up with the SBS Exchange Server and brought in a weeks worth of e-mail just like it was supposed to.

Update

Why would you want to use the self-signed certificate? In the past SSL certificates were expensive. With increased competition in the marketplace that is no longer the case. You can use a Standard SSL certificate from Go Daddy for less than thirty dollars. It will work for your Smartphone and enhance your Remote Web Workplace by removing the annoying pop-up about a problem with the sites certificate.

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Cyber Security 2005

2005 is over. Last year their were 5,198 vulnerabilities reported to the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team. 812 for Windows systems, 2328 for Unix/Linux systems and 2058 for multiple operating systems. Looks like there are a lot more vulnerabilities impacting other operating systems than there are impacting Windows.

Now, aren’t you glad you are running your network on Windows and Windows Small Business Server. You can check the list of vulnerabilities here. You can also draw some real insight into what’s really secure from the list. It’s an eye opener.

Friday, January 13, 2006

Symantec Plants “Rootkit” on Customers Systems

It was discovered this week that Symantec’s Norton SystemWorks plants a “rootkit-type” hidden directory as part of it’s install. According to an article in eWeek, Symantec has released a patch to expose the directory so that it will become visible. After the flap over Sony’s DRM rootkit you would think that vendors would abandon this practice. If Symantec is doing this I wonder how many other vendors consider this a good practice?

Rootkits consists of files and directories that are hidden from your operating systems. Since they are hidden they don’t get scanned by your antivirus and spy ware programs. If someone compromises your system and places files in this directory you will not know that they are there and at that point your computer is not yours any more. This is “bad practice” and ought not be tolerated by the industry at all. EVER!

Wouldn?t’ you think that Symantec would know better?

If you are running Symantec’s Norton SystemWorks make sure you run LiveUpdate to patch your system.

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Windows XP Pro x64 On SBS - Trials and Tribulations, Continued?.

I have another surprise. Outlook can’t access the SBS Exchange Server when installed on Windows XP x64. Start up Outlook 2003 and it shows you the mailbox, with folders, only the folders are empty. This is not a real good way to impress your customer.

Turns out, it’s an RPC problem on the ISA 2004 Server. You can chose to turn off the RPC filter in ISA or go get the patch.

Sure it says Windows Server SP1, but guess what? Windows XP Pro x64 is also SP1, the features of XP Service Pack 2 are incorporated in x64 but thats it. It’s at SP1 and seems to be more of a kin of the 2003 server than it is to Windows XP.

I still have some drivers to track down for this system. If you are a manufacturer, what’s holding you up? Systems are starting to push toward 64 bit processors but the x64 version of Windows XP is severely lacking in the driver department.

Windows XP Pro x64 On SBS - Trials and Tribulations

I recently installed Windows XP Pro x64 on a Windows Small Business Server 2003 network. The install went smoothly with a few exceptions. When I ran the Connect Computer Wizard I received an error from the Fax Client and the ISA 2004 Firewall Client was also missing when I was finished. Apparently the Client software is not compatible with the x64 version of XP.

I was able to setup the Fax Printer using the software from the x64 CD and that seems to work fine. A search of the Internet brought bad news on a x64 ISA Firewall Client, It doesn’t exist yet. Not a real deal killer because it will connect with IPSec just fine. According to Dr. Shinder of ISAserver.org fame a x64 version of the ISA Firewall client is coming.

Before Installation I had found the basic drivers I needed for the PC and burned them to a CD. They installed without issue. The system had a raid array which proved to be a bit of a challenge finding the pre-install drivers. The community user group for the x64 addition of XP was a lot of help locating a suitable driver.

The network has a Samsung ML-2251NP network printer that has no drivers for the x64 version of XP at all. Drivers seem to be a big problem for x64 and the hardware vendors are really out to lunch on making them available.

There was a x64 driver available for a Samsung 2050 printer so I used it and it is working. The secret, install it on LPT1, tell it not to check for auto configuration settings, then change the port to a standard TCP/IP port pointed to the IP address of the printer.

One of the pleasant surprises during the install was from Computer Associates antivirus.

On install it detected the OS and installed the 64-bit Edition of the anti-virus software. Nice touch CA. Small footprint, daily updates and a x64 version??. Sweet!

Sunday, November 06, 2005

Podcast Sunday, Vlad Mazek Presents…........... The SBS Show

Not to be outdone by the SBS Support team Vlad has created his own podcast, called the SBS Show. Each week he brings Small Business Server experts together to talk about best practice, issues and solutions for SBS. This weeks show, episode three, is all about disaster recovery.

Microsoft SBS Support Team Does Podcast #7

If you are reading the news groups about Small Business Server then you most likely know that the Support Group for Small Business Server does a podcast once a week about relative break/fix and other solutions for SBS.

Saturday, October 08, 2005

Bug Found in Symantec AntiVirus

A bug rated high by Symantec could allow attackers to run code on unpatched systems. C|net has the news story. For more information from Symantec all the details are available at their security response page.

This just illustrates how important it is to patch your systems. You are keeping up with your patching aren’t you?

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

Microsoft Small Business Server Opportunities Are Growing

According to the Yankee Group, Small Business Server 2003 is offering consultants and value added retailers, plenty of opportunities for 2005. If you are a registered Microsoft Partner the study can be found in the Small Business News section on the Microsoft Partner’s small business page.

Two big points, Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 has no competition and Linux is not a consideration for most small business.

Small Business Server is driving revenues in a huge way. I know Microsoft has a hit! It looks like the word is getting out and small business leaders like the value they receive from their Small Business Server network.

If you sell solutions based on Microsoft products and are not a registered partner you should get registered. It won’t cost you anything and Microsoft’s outreach to its partners is huge.

About

This web log is operated by myself, Stevereno. I work in a computer support role for a Fortune 500 investment and financial services company. The opinion and views expressed here are my own and do not reflect the views and opinions of anyone other than myself. No warranties or other guarantees are offered in regard to the quality of the opinions offered here....